The E-Volution: Urban space solutions for passengers and freight

The E-Volution: urban space solutions for passengers and freight

Date: 19-20 June
Location: Brussels (and online)

This hybrid meeting will take place in Brussels and will feature several presentations and discussion rounds that include stakeholders from cities, the freight industry, technology providers, as well as researchers, who are providing urban charging solutions for freight and passengers.

It will be split into two distinct sessions, the first examining passenger transit, the second diving into freight and logistics.

Fostering exchange on urban electric charging

The EU climate targets, which are enshrined in the ‘EU Green Deal’, will promote the decarbonisation of all sectors of the economy. Since the private and commercial transport sector is currently unable to decarbonise in a sufficient pace to reach the target of 55% net reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030, affordable and efficient solutions are necessary. These challenges especially apply to urban environments, as vehicle pollution has the biggest negative impact due to traffic density.

Since urban curbside and street space is limited, discussions between city administrations, citizens, stakeholders and commercial entities about space management and the installation and maintenance of electric charging infrastructure are ongoing.

BEV technology and urban freight pilots for zero-emission urban freight 

Similar to the technological advancements in battery technology of BEVs for passengers that results in a significantly increased maximum range, commercial battery-electric HGVs are an increasingly viable alternative to conventional ICE HGVs. Several significant players in the freight industry have made orders for battery-electric HGVs to OEMS just in the recent months.

Furthermore, EU-funded HorizonEurope projects, such as eCharge4Drivers, NextETRUCK, ESCALATE and SCALE, are testing, or planning to test electric vehicle charging solutions in urban environments for passenger cars, light 2-wheelers and heavy-duty trucks. These technological advancements in electric urban mobility need to be catered for by charging infrastructure solutions in urban- or peri-urban areas. Thus, cities, industry and researchers have a significant interest to exchange.

Full agenda HERE